Revelation
by welshie
Summary: Jack accidentally discovers a secret that has an impact on Sydney and Vaughn’s relationship. Chapter Three now added!
1. Discovery

Title: Revelation

Author: welshie

Summary: Jack accidentally discovers a secret that has an impact on Sydney and Vaughn's relationship.

Disclaimer: Obviously the show and the characters do not belong to me.

Rating: PG-13 (I think).

A/N: This is the first chapter of a three-chapter fic. No spoilers (I'm desperately trying to be spoiler free!) Anyway it's mostly S/V with some angst thrown in too! Please feel free to tell me what you think of the story. Any feedback on style and content will be appreciated-Thanks!!

~~~

Chapter One: Discovery.

Weiss stopped walking down the hallway and stuck his head into Vaughn's office. He was surprised to see Vaughn still sitting at his desk. It seemed to Weiss as if he was a million miles away, just staring at his computer monitor.

"What are you still doing here? I thought you would have run out of here by now." Weiss said as he walked in and sat down in an empty chair.

"Hey Eric," Vaughn said, finally noticing Weiss "What did you say?" Vaughn added as he came out of his reverie.

"Aren't you supposed to be meeting Sydney?" Weiss asked as he remembered why Vaughn was probably still hanging around in his office. Vaughn just glanced at the clock on his desk in front of him. "I didn't want to be stuck in traffic. Most people will be going away for Christmas Day, so I thought I'd stay here for a while instead." Vaughn responded.

"And I just thought I'm the one usually caught day-dreaming." Weiss commented.

"I wasn't day-dreaming." Vaughn protested.

"I bet she'll be waiting for you." Weiss said. It wasn't fun teasing Vaughn about Sydney and watching him squirm anymore so instead of waiting for a reply, Weiss stood up and continued his journey back to his own office.

Vaughn then grabbed his car keys and his briefcase before heading out of his office to make the drive to the warehouse.

~~~

Vaughn parked his car in the usual place outside the warehouse. He smiled to himself as he realised that Weiss had guessed correctly when he spotted in the darkness that Sydney's car was already there. He reached for his briefcase before he got out of his car and took the few steps to reach the warehouse entrance.

Sydney was impatiently pacing around in a large circle to kill time before Vaughn arrived. She was surprised that he wasn't waiting for her as he usually did. But she then felt a pang of guilt as she realised that it was Christmas Eve and instead of spending the holiday with his family and friends, he had to discuss counter-missions and hand over surveillance equipment to her.

Sydney finally heard Vaughn's footsteps as he approached. A smile spread across on her face as she anticipated his appearance. She stopped walking and sat down on one of the empty chairs nearby. Eventually Vaughn stood in front of her with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Hi Vaughn." Sydney said.

"I'm sorry. Have you been waiting long?" He asked as he set his briefcase down on the table near the wall. 

"No. It's okay." She replied.

"Good." He said as he got the necessary documents and the tracking gadget from his briefcase that he'd have to pass on to her. He then sat down on the chair facing her.

"How long do you have before your flight?" Vaughn asked immediately getting straight to business.

"Just over three hours." Sydney responded after she looked at her watch.

"Well since Dixon won't be on the mission with you this time, pass the disk on to our contact in Milan. A copy will be made and the original will be returned to you at the airport in Milan before you fly home." Vaughn then handed over the tracker to Sydney.

"What's this?" She asked as she studied what seemed to be a credit card.

"We'll be able to follow the information you'll retrieve and see how SD-6 will use it. Place this on the computer when you're making a copy of the intel for SD-6." Vaughn explained.

"Okay." Sydney then put the tracker carefully in her pocket. She looked across at Vaughn as he flicked through the file in his hands to make sure he hadn't forgotten any important details. "This can't be much fun for you. I'm sorry that you had to be dragged out here on Christmas Eve."

"Oh, it's no problem. Don't worry about it." He said.

"So…how are you spending Christmas Day?" She asked trying to sound as if she was just making polite conversation.

"I'm staying in LA. I'm going to visit some friends for lunch tomorrow." He replied. "What will you do if you're flying back on the 26th?"

"Will and Francie said they would wait until I got back so that I don't miss out on a proper Christmas dinner. They even said they would wait to open the presents we gave each other!" Sydney smiled as she remembered how she had made both Will and Francie stick to their promise of a belated Christmas together.

"I should let you go get ready for your flight." Vaughn said quickly before standing up to walk back to his briefcase.

"I…since I was talking about gifts…." Sydney nervously began. Vaughn then turned around to face her once again. "…I saw this and I thought of you." Sydney then bent down slightly and as if by magic produced a plain, dark-grey paper bag and held it towards Vaughn.

"What is it?" Vaughn asked as he took the bag from her hands and peered into it. He then pulled out a book and saw it was about his favourite hockey team. 

"It's nothing really." She said dismissively as he turned the book over and skimmed over the description of the contents of the book. However Sydney paid close attention to the expression on his face to see if he did like it.

"No, it's great, thank you." Vaughn smiled as he looked up at Sydney's face. She smiled back with relief. He looked back down at the book and opened to the first page where he saw Sydney had written a brief message carefully scrawled in her neat, feminine handwriting,

_Vaughn,_

_Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!_

_S_

He began to wonder if she did happen to see the hockey book in a bookstore one day or if she had intentionally set out to buy him a gift. He realised that it didn't matter because the book and the message, innocuous as they first seemed made him realise that she cared enough for him to get a gift that he'd keep and would remind him of her. 

"Thank you, Sydney." Vaughn repeated, but almost at a whisper. Vaughn hesitated for a moment before he took a step forward and awkwardly kissed her on her cheek. He attempted to move away, but his body was still close to hers, his face barely centimetres away. His sparking green eyes locked with her soft cinnamon brown eyes in the dim lighting of the warehouse. 

"Vaughn?" Sydney finally whispered.

"Huh?" Vaughn replied absently before being jolted back into reality. He had been gazing into Sydney's eyes for some time without even realising. But this time he didn't feel his face grow warm with embarrassment or feel the need to look away. Vaughn just smiled at Sydney. All the reasons why they shouldn't be together that were engrained in his mind disappeared as he moved closer to her and gently kissed Sydney on the lips.

Vaughn took a step back, as he tried to gauge Sydney's reaction. He knew he had crossed the line, finally taken action and had done something he couldn't take back. Vaughn had predicted a shocked or even an angry reaction from Sydney, but instead she surprised him by drawing him closer and passionately kissing him. 

A few moments later they flew apart when Sydney's cell phone rang. Vaughn stared down at the ground, the enormity of what just happened hitting him as if he had just been punched in the stomach.

"It's Dad." Sydney announced as she flipped her phone open to see who was on the other end of the line.

Vaughn finally looked across at Sydney, somehow managing to have an even more guilty expression on his face.

~~~

Jack parked his car outside the warehouse and saw two other cars nearby. He quickly got out of his car and walked into the warehouse. He noticed how quiet it was as he approached the spot where Sydney and Vaughn usually met. Jack couldn't hear their voices. He only heard the sound of his footsteps and then the faint rattle of the chain fence. Jack turned the corner and was shocked to see in the distance, Sydney and Vaughn, their bodies close together with their arms wrapped around one another. They were clearly not discussing Sydney's counter-mission. Jack blinked, convinced his eyes were being deceived in the semi-darkness. But the image in front of him remained the same. Jack turned around and walked back around the corner and paused for a moment, trying to think of what to do next. He then quickly found his cell phone and dialled Sydney's number.

"Sydney. I'm here at the warehouse. I'll see you in a minute." He didn't wait for a response and ended the call. He waited for several seconds, giving Sydney and Vaughn time to regain their composure. 

He eventually turned the corner once again and this time he saw Sydney and Vaughn almost at opposite corners of the fenced area. Jack slowly walked towards them.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Sydney asked, desperately trying to seem calm and collected.

Jack glanced across at Vaughn before he replied. "Agent Weiss said you were here." 

Vaughn studied Jack's face for a moment unsure if he was aware of the uncomfortable atmosphere. Jack turned his head in Vaughn's direction and gave the slightest of nods.

"I have to go." Vaughn lied. He made sure Sydney's present was hidden behind his briefcase before gratefully taking his cue to leave from Jack. "Merry Christmas." Vaughn added weakly not looking directly at Sydney.

"Merry Christmas." Sydney responded overly upbeat. She waited for Vaughn to leave before she spoke again. "So, Dad, you didn't answer my question."

"I needed to find you before you headed off to the airport. Sloane sent me to give you this." Jack then handed over a brown envelope. "Sloane said he felt bad for sending you on a mission over Christmas so he decided to have the hotel room where you'll be staying after you complete your mission upgraded." Jack explained. Sydney opened the envelope to find all the arrangements for her accommodation in Milan.

"Great! So I have to pretend to be grateful when I next see him. At least he was kind enough to let Dixon spend some time with his family though." A thought suddenly occurred to Sydney. "Wait, are you sure Sloane doesn't have some ulterior motive? Why did you let Vaughn go? He should know about this." 

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he gets the information." Jack answered.

"Is that all?" Sydney asked.

"Yes." Jack said after deliberating for a moment.

"Merry Christmas, Dad." Sydney smiled warmly at Jack after she kissed him on the cheek. Impulsively she threw her arms around him and hugged him. Jack was at first surprised, but managed to hug her back. 

"I'll see you when you get back, Sydney." He said quietly.

"Bye Dad." Sydney replied as he released her from his grip. She then walked away leaving Jack alone, his mind already busy with ideas of what he should do about Sydney and Vaughn's increasingly complex relationship.

~~~ 

Vaughn spent most of Christmas Day in a preoccupied haze. He had had second thoughts about going to his friend's house for lunch, but decided that maybe some company would stop him thinking about his situation.

However Vaughn just ended up sitting on the couch, oblivious to the people around him and even to the squeals and yelps of excitement coming from the young children that were running all around the house and garden with their new toys.

Vaughn was almost glad that it had been Sydney's father that had nearly caught them at the warehouse. The first time they had actually done something about their feelings and it had resulted in a shockingly close call. The thought of another CIA agent or even worse someone from SD-6 security section catching them together made him feel ill.

"You look like you could do with a drink." A male voice said finally breaking Vaughn's trance-like state.

"Thanks, Eric." Vaughn gratefully took the half-filled glass from Weiss. He wanted his mind to cloud over as nothing else was working to distract him. "I didn't think this would be your idea of a good way to spend Christmas Day." Vaughn said as he looked across at Weiss.

"As long as I don't have to cook the food, I'm there!" Weiss joked. Vaughn managed a feeble smile in response. Weiss noticed Vaughn's pale face and red eyes. It seemed as if he hadn't slept. "Wow, you don't look so good." He added.

"I'm fine." Vaughn gave the now standard response when anyone asked him how he was doing.

"As if that is meant to fool me." Weiss retorted. "Come on…spill."

Quietly and concisely, Vaughn recounted the events of the night before at the warehouse.

"What if next time, you aren't so lucky?" Weiss echoed Vaughn's thoughts.

"If there is a next time." Vaughn replied miserably.

"What are you going to do?" Weiss asked concerned.

"I have no idea." Vaughn couldn't help, but chuckle bitterly at his impossible predicament.

~~~


	2. Confrontation

Chapter Two: Confrontation 

Vaughn sat with Weiss in his office as Vaughn waited for Sydney to get in contact with him after her return to LA. Vaughn still didn't know what he should say to Sydney, but he wanted to hear that she was safe, back from yet another mission first. He decided that only then could he reach some sort of resolution about their future. 

So Vaughn and Weiss sat in silence as they stared at the phone, waiting to ring. The quiet was suddenly disrupted when Jack stormed into Vaughn's office and glared at Weiss.

"I'll…er…I should go and see Devlin now I think." Weiss nervously said as he stood up.

"Agent Weiss." Jack said stony faced. He continued to stare at Weiss, making him hurry out of Vaughn's office even faster. Jack then sat down in the chair that Weiss had occupied. "Close the door." Jack ordered. Vaughn quickly complied and stood up to take the few steps to his door and made sure it was shut before he sat back down in his chair.

"Jack?" Vaughn could see the stormy expression on Jack's face and he knew that he wouldn't be in his office unless something serious had occurred.

"Excuse me if I dispense with the pleasantries." Jack answered. Vaughn wondered for a moment if Jack was even capable of making small talk with anyone. But the stern look on Jack's face forced him to focus on the matter in front of him.

"Has something happened to Syd? Is this about her?" Vaughn asked growing increasingly worried. Vaughn managed to distract Jack for a second when he used 'Syd' in such a natural and affectionate way. Jack realised how difficult this would be for his daughter. He was taking away a chance for happiness even if he did think it was temporary. And he knew that she wouldn't appreciate his attempt at being an interfering father either. However the thought of SD-6 security section finding out about her relationship with Vaughn was more than enough reason for him to put an end to it. 

"I saw you Agent Vaughn." Jack eventually said.

"Sorry, what?" Vaughn was genuinely puzzled. He had no idea what Jack was talking about.

"I saw you and my daughter at the warehouse two nights ago." Jack answered. He then saw a mixture of realisation and horror gradually dawn across Vaughn's face. "I'm sure you don't need to be reminded of what the consequences could be if you continue to pursue this."  

"I…er…we haven't been…we're not…." Vaughn managed to stumble out.

"Regardless, if you do not deal with this …"

"Then what will you do?" Vaughn interrupted Jack, instantly regretting the challenge.

"_If _you do not deal with this appropriately." Jack repeated even more firmly this time. "I will go to Devlin and make this official. Sydney likes working with you and I'm sure you want to continue working with her." Jack saw that he had had the desired effect when Vaughn just nodded his head in apparent defeat.

"Yes, I understand." Vaughn said sadly. Jack couldn't help but feel sorry for Vaughn, but he also had to make him understand why he was doing this.

"I know you care for Sydney." Jack said softly.

"Yes, I do." Vaughn confessed.

"But I am not willing to risk my daughter's safety and therefore her life. Mistakes are inevitable and some mistakes cannot be rectified." Jack stood up signalling the end of the conversation. "We will not talk about this again." He added as he looked down at Vaughn.

"I know what to do." Vaughn said already dreading the conversation he would have to have with Sydney. 

~~~

Vaughn eventually received the call to meet Sydney at the warehouse. He took the time while he waited for her to map out his side of the conversation that he'd have with her. The thought of ending any possibility of a future together was painful enough, but actually having to execute it was torture for him.  Vaughn was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't hear Sydney approach.

"Vaughn?" Sydney said quietly. He looked up to see Sydney standing directly in front of him.

"Hi, Syd." Vaughn managed to reply.

"I've got the copy. The mission went smoothly." Sydney handed over a disk to Vaughn. He quickly put it in his jacket pocket. "About…" Sydney began, but was interrupted by him.

"Please, Syd. I need to say this." Sydney could see the sadness in his eyes. He then falteringly continued. "The last time we were here, I …I did…something wrong. I'm sorry and I promise it will never happen again."

"So that's it?" Sydney said in disbelief.

"Yes." Vaughn replied firmly, but he was unable to look her in the eyes as he spoke.

~~~

"Do I get a say in any of this?" She asked, her voice rising.

"I don't have a say. Neither of us has a choice in this."

"Is this all just about rules and protocol, Vaughn?"

"No!" Vaughn exclaimed. He then jumped off the table he was sitting on and stood up to look her in the eyes. "I don't care about _rules and protocol_." He added earnestly.

"You care more than you think!" Sydney retorted.

"If those rules mean that I won't be the one responsible for something…happening to you…" His voice trailed off to a whisper. "…Your job is dangerous enough and I'm not going to add to it." Vaughn finally continued.

"My job." Sydney sighed, aching with disappointment. 

"Mistakes are inevitable and some mistakes cannot be rectified." Vaughn found himself repeating Jack's words and they echoed bitterly in his ears.

"You have always told me the truth…" Sydney took a step closer to him and Vaughn nodded in head in agreement. "…so that is why I now know you're lying to me!" She shouted.

"What?!" Vaughn replied, surprised at her sudden outburst.

"I know your hiding something. Just tell me the truth. Surely I deserve that much?"

"Your father turning up at that exact time wasn't a close call. He saw us." Vaughn admitted.

"How do you know?" She asked her mind reeling from the revelation.

"He spoke to me this morning." Vaughn's encounter with Jack was still painfully fresh in his mind.

"What did he say?" She coaxed.

"That I'd be reassigned, if I didn't stop…this.

"And you just accepted his threat?"

"It wasn't a threat. I understand why he had to take action. I agree with him." Vaughn said desperately trying to stick to the plan he came to the warehouse with.

"Fine!" With that Sydney turned around and walked away from Vaughn, back to her car.

"Sydney!" Vaughn called out in vain.

Vaughn dejectedly sat back down on the table, feeling much worse than before. He eventually got up and headed out of the warehouse. He tried to console himself that he had done the right thing, even if it meant that his relationship with Sydney was now in tatters.


	3. Confession

Chapter Three: Confession

Sydney drove back to her apartment and it was only as she put her key in the lock that she remembered that Francie would have made a belated Christmas dinner. Sydney was hardly in the mood to celebrate anything, but she knew she would have to put on a brave face and somehow get through the next few hours.

Luckily for Sydney, her expertise at creating a façade was so good that Francie and Will didn't guess anything was amiss during dinner. Will went back to his apartment soon after the gifts were exchanged, so Sydney and Francie spent the rest of the evening sitting on the couch catching up and drinking coffee. It was only then that a weary Sydney let her guard slip. She picked up the Christmas present Francie had given her from the table in front of her, it was a beautiful hand painted silk scarf. Sydney just stared at it as she let it fall out of her grasp and onto her lap.

"What's wrong, Syd?" Francie asked, concerned as she looked across at a despondent Sydney. Sydney hesitated a moment, but realised that Francie was the only person that she could talk to about her relationship with Vaughn. Her father's actions had proved to her that he would never understand and Vaughn had seemingly closed the door on any further discussion on the matter. 

"There's a guy at work" Sydney began. Francie faced Sydney to pay full attention to her.

"You never told me you liked a guy at the bank." Francie commented.

"Before I left for my trip, we kissed. He kissed me first, but I kissed him back."

"So what happened then?"

"I spoke to him earlier today and he decided that it would be a mistake to get involved since we work together." Sydney explained.

"Even after you told him how you felt?"

"He didn't give me the chance to explain how I feel! I just got angry with him and in the end I stormed off." Tears began to well up in Sydney's eyes and threatened to spill over onto her cheeks. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry about this!" She added as she wiped her eyes, angrier with herself than with Vaughn.

"How _do_ you feel about him?" Francie gently asked.

"That's all I could think about on my flight back here. I finally realised how much he really means to me. I guess I knew a while ago, but perhaps I pushed my feelings away because it was easier than dealing with them."

"So tell him that." Francie suggested.

"It's all such a mess now. It's hopeless!" She sighed.

"Tell him anyway." Francie said. "If it is as hopeless as you say, what have you got to lose?"

"Nothing I guess." Sydney mused.

"Exactly. Maybe all he needs is a bit of encouragement!"

"Thank you for listening to me, Fran." Sydney said feeling a bit more optimistic.

"No problem." Francie replied smiling at Sydney. "Tell me how it goes." Francie added as she picked up the coffee cups from the table and took them to the kitchen.

~~~

The next day Sydney went to SD-6 to write-up her report on the Italy mission and then hand it in to Sloane. After her meeting she went to Jack's office to confront him about his underhand tactics in separating Vaughn and herself.

"I know what you did." Sydney said after she sat down opposite Jack. He was surprised that she didn't seem angry with him at all.

Sydney, I"

"I understand why you did it." She said interrupting him. "But I'm not a child. I am old enough to make my own decisions."

"Of course you are. But I don't want to see you get hurt." Jack said choosing his words carefully to imply both emotional and physical pain.

"He would never intentionally hurt me." Sydney said, her voice full of emotion.

"People can have the best of intentions, yet there are always circumstances that are out of our control."

"So do I live my life in hope of what could be or regret of what might have been?" She asked her father sadly.

Jack sat there at a loss of how to respond to her question. Jack's heart silently ached for his daughter. He longed to fix everything in her life so that for once she could be truly happy.

"I don't know." He sighed. "I don't know what to say." He added regretfully.

"Do I have to sacrifice my chance for future happiness yet again?"

"It's a choice I wish you didn't have to make. But you do have to look to the future Sydney. You don't have the luxury everyone else has of living in the moment." 

"Would you have actually ordered the reassignment?" Sydney asked, curious to know what lengths her father would have gone to for her.

"I'm glad it never came to that." He said honestly.

"Dad, I know you're concerned for me, but you don't need to worry." Sydney managed to smile at Jack.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way for you, Sydney."

"I'm sorry too." Sydney replied. She then stood up and softly smiled once again before she left Jack's office.

~~~

Sydney waited a couple of days before she called Vaughn to meet him. She had needed the time to try to process all her thoughts and feelings and she now felt confident that she could make Vaughn understand her viewpoint. 

Sydney had decided to meet at her local park. She sat down on a bench in the shade of a large tree. She took out her diary and pen from the bag she was carrying and began to make notes as if she was organising her schedule for the next few days. Eventually she heard footsteps and guessed that it was Vaughn. Vaughn sat down on the bench behind her so that they were sitting back to back. He wished he could see her face, but realised he was grateful to meet in public as there was less chance for his resolve to fail. Vaughn pulled a book from his jacket and pretended to read it.

"Guess what I'm reading?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said playing along after she noticed the effort he was making to lighten the strained atmosphere between them.

"It's a book about hockey. Fortunately I'm a big fan. And what makes it even better is that it's on my favourite team."

"Really?" She asked as she resisted the urge to turn her head in Vaughn's direction.

"Yes." Vaughn could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke. He flipped the pages back to the inscription Sydney had written and then quietly asked, "Why did you want to see me?"

"I arranged to meet here because I didn't get the chance to speak last time we met. I promise I won't yell at you this time!"

"That's good to know!" Vaughn replied.

"So I just want to say something and ask you a question if that's all right."

"Sure."

Sydney took a deep breath before she began. "I care about you, far more than you realise." She then slowly breathed out. "You said you were sorry for what happened, but I'm not. I didn't get carried away in the moment. I knew exactly what I was doing."

Sydney waited for a response, but Vaughn could only sit there in stunned silence. She had persuaded herself that there was hope for them, but it was clear to her that Vaughn didn't feel the same way. She snapped her diary shut as her heart was crushed once again.

"Apparently you're not the only one capable of making a mistake." She said as she picked up her bag to leave.

"Wait!" he exclaimed, but not loud enough for passers by to hear. "I owe you an explanation, the truth." He paused for a moment and continued to speak when he realised she had not walked away. "I'm meant to be the sensible one, the responsible Handler who dispenses counter-missions and the occasional piece of advice when needed. That's all. I'm not meant to beso involved. But I've spent so long, first in denial then covering up how I truly feel. I've been so busy desperately trying to do the right thing that I didn't fully consider your feelings. I've only succeeded in hurting you, which is the last thing I wanted."

"What would you have done if Dad hadn't said he'd report you to Devlin?" Sydney asked carefully.

"Sydney"

"No, don't answer that." She interrupted him. "What if he hadn't caught us, what if you were free to make the choice?"

"He did catch us though. There's no point discussing 'what if's'."

"Hypothetically, what would you have done?" She asked again. Sydney could feel her heart beating faster as she nervously waited for his answer.

"The outcome would be the same." He eventually replied.

"Okay." Sydney nodded her head in resignation.

"I'm sorry." Vaughn managed to whisper before he stood up and walked away.

Sydney knew why he had answered her question that way. He was just being his usual straightforward, honest self, qualities that she had always admired in him. As she collected her things together she began to wonder if she should be realistic and give up on the possibility of her and Vaughn ever being together.

~~~~

A/N: I did aim for this to be just three chapters long, but I'm working on a fourth at the moment! I guess it doesn't help that I'm not sure how I want it to end!


End file.
